Douglas Goldstein, CFP®, is an investment advisor, president of Profile Investments (www.profile-financial.com) and host of the personal financial radio show, Goldstein on Gelt. He can be reached at doug@profile-financial.com. Follow Doug on Twitter: @DougGoldstein.

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Failure or Survival: Does Europe Have a Future in World Finance?

The once mighty Europe, former leader of world finance, is currently fighting for its survival. What is the way forward?

Anyone who has read the finance news will know that Europe is currently at a crossroads. Was the Euro a failure or is this what will ultimately save Europe and bring it back to life once again?

When I recently posted an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post on the future of Europe, called “Is the European Union Doomed to Failure” (which you can read at: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=255792), I received a most indignant reply from a reader in Estonia who felt that I had written too strongly in my perspective on Europe’s position within world finance.

I had based my opinion piece on the fact that economic crisis seems to be the order of the day in Europe, as Greece is leading the charge to collapse, and Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, and other countries are also struggling. Some believe that this shows a dire future for the Continent, while others would say that Europe is not to be underestimated even now.

In my article, I described the question that anyone who is interested in intelligent finance is asking: What is the future of Europe – survival or failure? I presented both points of view, and left it to the reader to judge. I also mentioned the role of the Euro in all this and why it is not so simple to reverse the course of financial history.

Credit: Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

By writing about this, my intention was not to upset anyone living “across the pond in Europe” at all. I had based my perspectives on OECD reports that describe how Estonia and certain other EU countries were doing well during the last decade but have now started to slump. Although Estonia is to be admired for pulling itself out of the economic mire caused by life under the former Soviet Union, it is now suffering from high inflation and unemployment.

So what does the future hold in terms of money and finance in the European Union? Of course, past performance is never a guarantee of future returns, and many believe that mighty Europe might still pull itself out of the mess. However, the prognosis in the meantime for the EU’s position in world finance is still far from rosy.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for investment advice that takes into account each individual’s special position and needs. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.